Wireless technology provides a mechanism for either replacing or extending traditional wired networks including, but not limited to, local area networks (LANs), personal area networks (PAN) and metropolitan area networks (MAN). Using radio frequency (RF) or non-RF technology, wireless networks transmit and receive data over the air, through walls, ceilings and even cement structures without wired cabling. For example, a wireless-LAN (WLAN) is a flexible data communication system. A WLAN provides all the features and benefits of traditional LAN technology, such as Ethernet and Token Ring, but without the limitations of being tethered together by a cable. This provides greater freedom and increased flexibility.
In other words, a WLAN is a network in which a mobile user can connect to a local area network (LAN) through a wireless (radio) connection according to a wireless protocol. Wireless protocols include, but are not limited to, IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11c, 802.11g, HiperLan 2, or any other protocol for any point-to-point wireless link or network. These wireless protocols are designed to provide high bandwidth allocation, technologies for WLANs, as well as other wireless networks. As a result, WLANs will enable, at a relatively low cost, wiring of various buildings, such as businesses, classrooms, homes or the like, while providing high bandwidth allocation.
One technique for high bandwidth allocation in either a WLAN or a wireless-PAN (WPAN) is provided via ultra wide bandwidth (UWB) radio systems. UWB radio systems are also used to provide wireless-PANS (WPAN) UWB radio systems employ the transmission of very short pulses of radio energy. These characteristic spectrum signatures extend across a wide range of radio frequencies. In addition, since UWB signals have high bandwidth and frequency diversity, UWB signals are particularly suited for high speed data communications in environments, such as indoors where multipath fading is likely. Consequently, UWB radio systems are generally well suited for implementing a WLAN.
Unfortunately, wireless networks, such as WLANs rely on a communications medium (RF waves) which represent a shared medium. As a result, everything that is transmitted or received over a wireless network can be intercepted. Generally, encryption and authentication are considered when developing a wireless network system. The goal of these security features is to make wireless traffic as secure as wired traffic. To promote this goal, wireless protocols require a mechanism for encrypting traffic and authenticating nodes such as, for example, the wired equivalence privacy (WEP) protocol.
The WEP protocol is used to protect link layer communications from eavesdropping and other attacks. Unfortunately, various individuals have discovered serious security flaws in the protocol stemming from misapplication of cryptographic primitives. As a result, a number of practical attacks have been discovered that cause the WEP protocol to fail to achieve its security goals. Therefore, there remains a need to overcome one or more of the limitations in the above-described, existing art.